Hold On
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Maddie is pretty sure she's suffering from the flu but Josh and Sue quickly deduce what the actual problem is.


Warning for morning sickness and mention of vomiting!

* * *

Maddie tried to ignore that nausea while she worked a call but as soon as they hung up, she grabbed the garbage can under her desk and vomited into it. Josh, unfortunately, had great timing, and walked past right as she did so. "Think I have the flu," she told him after wiping her face.

Josh eyed her skeptically. "Then you should go home."

"No, I'm feeling a lot better now," she told him just seconds before turning her head back into the garbage can and doing it again.

"You're feeling a lot better, huh?" he asked.

She flushed. "I should probably go home."

"Good idea. Let me tell Sue and I'll call you a Lyft to take you home. You shouldn't be driving like this."

Maddie stood up quickly and immediately regretted it but managed to calm herself. "A car sounds like the worst idea right now. Think I'm just going to lie down on the floor for a little while."

Concerned, Josh followed her to one of the break rooms after calling someone over to fill her place. He watched as she gently lowered herself onto the floor just as Sue walked in. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Guess that answers my question. You doing okay, Maddie?"

Exhausted and unable to muster up enough energy to do much of anything, Maddie only gave her a thumbs up. "Will be. Thanks, Sue."

"You're welcome. We'll call someone to take you home whenever you're ready."

"Got it." Maddie waved off Josh and Sue's concerns and refused to move for about an hour or so. She started to feel better and more like herself around two, which is when she called Chimney (luckily, he didn't have to go into work until later that night) to come pick her up.

"You're looking a whole lot better," a suddenly suspicious Sue observed with a smile on her face.

"Yeah, it's weird. This flu's coming and going, it seems like."

Josh froze then and glanced over at Sue, who nodded. "Uh, I think I know what's wrong with you," he sing-songed.

"The flu?" Maddie didn't understand why he seemed so happy.

Sue sighed. "Maddie, sweetheart, I think you need to stop at the pharmacy and pick up a pregnancy test on your way home. This definitely seems like morning sickness."

Maddie's heart clenched and she shook her head. "No, I can't be pregnant. Chim and I are really careful."

"Birth control isn't one hundred percent effective," Sue gently reminded her.

"Oh God." A sudden wave of nausea chose that moment to hit her and Maddie ran to the bathroom, Sue hot on her tail. Maddie groaned once she finished. "Fuck," she murmured.

"Finally accepted the truth?" Sue hoped this was happy news despite the fact that the pregnancy seemed to be a shock.

"Oh God," Maddie repeated to herself.

A knock on the door interrupted her freak-out. "Maddie? Chimney's here to take you home!" josh called.

"Thanks. I'll be out in a minute!" she called back. With Sue's help, she stood up and then hugged her boss. "Thanks," Maddie murmured.

"You're welcome," Sue told her, still smiling. She then sent Maddie and Chimney on their way.

On the way home, Maddie made him stop at a pharmacy and she grabbed some pregnancy tests, passing them off as flu medication when her boyfriend asked what she needed. As soon as they got back to the apartment, she headed to the bathroom and secretly took the tests. A minute later, she had confirmation to what she already knew. "You okay in there?" Chimney asked as she tried to process the news.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she lied. Now she needed to break the news to her boyfriend, and hopefully he'd be excited. She, however, was scared shitless and didn't know how to cope. They had talked about having children but not yet - in the future, once they were married. She and Chimney weren't even engaged yet! But as terrified as Maddie was, she also couldn't wait to see what a baby that was half her and half the man she loved looked like. And she knew Buck, along with the rest of the 118 family, would spoil this baby rotten like they did May and Harry, Chris, and Denny and his newly adopted sister, Hannah. So, Maddie took a deep breath, threw most of the pregnancy tests in the trash, and then opened the door. She handed the test in her hand over to Chimney. "Surprise?!"

Chimney's mouth dropped open and he stared at the test in shock. "That says positive. It's a positive pregnancy test."

Maddie laughed nervously. "That it is."

Although in shock himself, Chimney surprised Maddie by letting out a happy laugh and picking her up. "I love you."

"I love you too," she murmured, still nervous.

"We're having a baby, how could I not be happy? This is definitely a curveball but I can't wait to meet this kid." He kissed her and then set her back down.

"You think we can do this?"

"I know we can," he confirmed. Yes, this wasn't planned but neither were most pregnancies. They could definitely do this parenthood thing.

She finally beamed at him. "I'm going to trust you." Becoming a mom for the first time at thirty-nine was definitely not what she expected in life but she couldn't wait to see what this baby was like. And she knew Chimney (and Buck) were going to drive her up the wall with how overprotective they were for the duration of this pregnancy but Maddie wasn't going to let this worry her just yet.

For now, the morning sickness had abated and she and Chimney had a pregnancy to celebrate so they ordered one of their favorite pizzas and settled in to watch a movie until he went to work. She relaxed and refused to let herself worry about anything for the time being, which was honestly better for her.

In seven months, Maddie and Chimney's lives would change forever and neither were prepared for that just yet but that was okay. They still had time to come to terms with the news and get even more excited about the future that lay ahead.


End file.
